DUDHNOI, Oct 17: The Garo Autonomous Council Demand Committee (GACDC) organised a public meeting at the Silluk village playground in Dudhnoi on Thursday to express their resentment over the formation of a Development Council, which opposes their demand for an Autonomous Council.
The meeting saw leaders and members from various organisations, including the Garo Autonomous Council (GNC), Garo Women’s Council (GWC), Garo Youth Council (GYC), All Garo Gaonburha Association, and many other groups, alongside Garos from both Kamrup and Goalpara districts, gathering to protest against the Garo Development Council (GDC).
Benhur Sangma, president of the GACDC, presided over the meeting, which featured former GDC chairman Alex K Sangma and social activist Riya Sangma as chief guests.
Enindra U Marak, general secretary of the GNC, stated, “We will never accept the GDC. We were shocked that despite our long-pending demand, the state government has disregarded us and is once again forming a new committee for the GDC under the patronage of Assam Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Dr Numal Momin. We will never accept it.”
Former GDC chairman Alex K Sangma criticised the Assam government for not fulfilling its promise to upgrade the development council to an Autonomous Council. “The government has been deceiving the Garo community for years,” he said. “All Garo organisations from Assam have come together to organise this public meeting.”
He alleged, “The state government misled us for about two years by giving us the GDC without cabinet approval. It was only on December 12 last year that the cabinet approved the GDC, which happened due to the faults of Deputy Speaker Dr Numal Momin. We did not receive any budget for two years; last year, we received only a small budget of about 33 lakh rupees, and we immediately started some development works.”
“Today, we discussed future plans to achieve the Garo Autonomous Council, and we will continue to protest until we do,” added Alex K. Sangma.
Social activist Riya Sangma remarked, “We in Assam have been demanding the Garo Autonomous Council for a long time. The government promised us annual funds to develop our community, but we have received nothing as promised. In Assam, more than 7 lakh people from the Garo community live in around 853 villages. However, smaller tribal communities have already received the Autonomous Council for their comprehensive development. We are the second-largest community in Assam, yet the state government has given us a Development Council instead of the Autonomous Council.”
Riya Sangma further alleged, “Now, another situation has been created by Deputy Speaker Dr Numal Momin, who promised that the GDC would be upgraded to an Autonomous Council. We accepted his promise because he is one of our brothers. However, Momin has now created another committee for the GDC even though the old committee’s term has not yet finished.”
“Momin has formed committees unethically for the GDC instead of advocating for an Autonomous Council for the Garo community’s comprehensive development. The state government has deceived us time and again due to Dr Numal Momin’s faults. However, Dr Numal Momin is the first representative and pride of the Garo community in the Assembly, serving as the Deputy Speaker. We had hoped he would help us achieve an Autonomous Council, but we feel deprived. We will continue our protest to achieve our goal,” Riya Sangma concluded.
